Such Comfort and Assurance – Homeward Bound!

March 25, 2025 nofearlindaLeave a comment

My post from Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Lent, was about our eternal home. This is something promised to us by Christ. Today’s scripture adds details that are significant to each of us as we look forward to our home in heaven with Christ. Revelation 21:3-4.

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Promises: God promises that one day we will live with Him and those things that have caused us tears like pain and death will no longer exist.

I can’t imagine living a world where pain and sorrow do not exist. There would be no more death, accidents, disease, anger, hatred, wars, greed, envy, evil, or selfish ambition. Wow! That will certainly be a place to look forward to, however, that is not the most important feature of this new home. It will be a place where we live in constant communion with God. We get a glimpse of this when we read the Genesis account of the Garden of Eden. There Adam and Eve walked with God, talked and lived in perfect harmony with Him. Our finite minds cannot even grasp a world without evil, but God promises it will come in His time. I hope that knowing a bit about our eternal home will bring a smile to your lips and hope to your heart. Be encouraged today as you ponder what God had in store for our future with Him.

What we know from these verses: God desires that I be with Him and He with me, God has a future planned where I will be with Him eternally, God knows the things in my life that cause me tears and suffering, sin causes pain in our lives and our home with Him will be a ‘sin free’ enviornment!

Lenten Reflections: What excites you the most about your future home in heaven? How can you know for sure you are going there? (Faith in Jesus is required- John 3:16, 1 John 1:9, John 11:25.)

We need to trust God for the future and walk believing in His Word. God keeps His promises and will deliver us to our heavenly home. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can be assured of a heavenly home that will be a joyous place with Him!

Linda

Related Verses: Leviticus 26:11-12, Isaiah 25:8, Ezekiel 37:27-28, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Revelation 7:17.

You Can Be Special to Someone This Week!

December 9, 2023 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Our story continues with Mary quickly traveling to the hill country after her encounter with the angel Gabriel to stay with Elizabeth and Zechariah. Luke 1:39-45

³⁹A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town ⁴⁰where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. ⁴³Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? ⁴⁴When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. ⁴⁵You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

I love this homey scene with the cousins embracing the mission God has given to each of them and encouraging one another. Elizabeth was much older than Mary, perhaps more like a grandmother by age. Her wisdom and joy in greeting Mary is apparent. She knows the child Mary is to bare is to be God’s child and her own child jumps in recognition of the spirit within Mary’s womb. Elizabeth acknowledges Mary place in God’s plan and what a favored relationship that will be. She also acknowledged as fact the blessing that comes through faith. I’m sure her wisdom and joy was an encouragement to young Mary.

What do we learn about God from this family scene? God desires that we be encouraged in our walk with Him. He places special people in our lives that will help us grow in our faith. God orchestrates events and people so that we are supported in our times of need. Mary needed the support of Elizabeth and Zachariah- their wisdom and faith as she prepared for her life as Josephs’ wife and Jesus’ mother. God also blesses us because of our faith in Him. His grace is beyond measure and open to all who believe.

Who do you have in your life right now that you can support and encourage? Perhaps you are a mentor or a friend that can lend support to someone spiritually, monetarily, physically or emotionally. I see Mary receiving all those from Elizabeth and Zachariah. Can you be that support for someone this week?

Linda

Looking for your keys? See Jesus, He found them.

April 17, 2019March 23, 2020 nofearlinda1 Comment

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I have an eternal home. Jesus’ work on the cross reconciled us, as sinners, and brought us into relationship with Holy God. Jesus knew that future believers would then dwell with Him in heaven. He reassured the disciples of this joyful fact even though they did not understand it at the time. It was only later they would grasp more fully the greatness of the price He paid to redeem all mankind. John 14:1-2 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?“ Jesus wanted his disciples, and us too, to understand that He was leaving them, but He was going ahead to prepare a place, a home for them. He assured them there would be room enough for all. This scripture is often used at funerals to comfort the grieving. The idea that we have a prepared place to go, a home in heaven is of great comfort and gives us great hope.

In our heavenly home, we will have a heavenly body that is eternal, immortal and imperishable. 2 Corinthians 5:1-2 in the Amplified version makes it very clear. “For we know that if the earthly tent [our physical body] which is our house is torn down [through death], we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our [immortal, eternal] celestial dwelling,” and 1 Corinthians 15:42 “So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The [human] body that is sown is perishable and mortal, it is raised imperishable and immortal.”

Be encouraged today as the suffering of this life will end and we will someday be with Jesus in a new body in a new home. Praise God!

Linda

Suggestion: Find someone to share your eternal hope and destination with and tell them how that gives you hope for today. You live with assurance as you know you have a home in heaven and Jesus is waiting for you there.

I have the keys to a home in heaven. Thank you Jesus.

March 12, 2019March 29, 2019 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I have a place in heaven. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about my eternal home in heaven because I’m usually so preoccupied with life in the here and now that it seems distant. However, the older I get the more I have pondered what this home will be like and who will be there with me. I realize now the urgency for telling others about Jesus and His saving power, so that they will not be left behind.

Today’s scripture comes from John 14. It is a familiar passage about the home Jesus is preparing for us and gives us great hope. I like the extra meaning the Amplified version John-14-2 gives John 14:1-4 ““Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe[confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me.²In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you.³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.⁴And [to the place] where I am going, you know the way.” We are not to be afraid because through faith in Jesus we know that He is preparing our eternal home and that He will come get us when the time is right.

Another passage in Ephesians reassures us that through faith in Jesus and because of God’s great love for us, we will be seated with Christ. It is truly by God’s grace, His unmerited favor, that He made such a place for us, as we did nothing to earn the riches we will receive. Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,⁷so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

In our eternal home will have a place of honor that is prepared for us by Christ himself, and we will be with Him for eternity. My finite mind can only try to imagine such provision, but I know I only need to believe in Jesus and His saving work on the cross for it to be mine.

Linda

Suggestion: Give some thought to heaven today and make a list of at least 5 things you know about it. Need some help- read Revelation 21 or go back and reread today’s passages. They are filled with promises about our heavenly home. Hint- one of my favorites is Revelation 21:4

God’s Blessings effect our ENTIRE Life!

February 12, 2019 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Psalm 128 gives a summary of blessedness for the believer who follows God and clings to Him in the midst of a sinful world. The list of blessings is not all inclusive nor does it mean that because we do not experience these blessings something is wrong. Rather, the believer can rest assured that God will bless him/her. A truth that is seen throughout the Bible is that God blesses His people. Faith brings blessings.

128 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, The believer is gifted by God who walks in his ways! as he walks with him each day.

²You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your work is blessed.

³Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table. Your home and family are blessed.

⁴Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.

⁵The Lord bless you from Zion!
    May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life! Your city and nation are blessed.
⁶May you see your children’s children! Your life will be long
    Peace be upon Israel! and filled with peace.

God blesses us each day as we walk with Him. The blessings will look differently for each one of us but the truth of this psalm is that God’s blessings effect our entire life. From our selves to our work to our home to our city and nation. He blesses in all areas of our life and desires that we make an impact on those around us for the sake of the gospel. Paul summarizes his reasons for work and ministry in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. ²³I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

As you walk with the Lord today, look for His blessings in your life. Seek to share God’s blessings with others so they may come to know your Savior and seek Him too.

Linda

Stressed? Rest in Him and Be Blessed!

February 8, 2019 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Today’s blessing passage is found in Psalm 127. The entire psalm, verses 1-5, set forth the idea that all of life’s securities and blessings are gifts from God.

Unless the Lord builds the house,
    those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain. Man strives or toils in life building and watching over their ‘things’ but the psalmist is saying that unless God is in it and watches over it all the work is in vain, worthless and meaningless.   ²It is in vain that you rise up early
    and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep. God brings purpose to our days and rest to those who rest in Him so unless He is in your day you will feel anxious, stressed and restless.

³Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
    the fruit of the womb a reward.
⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.    God’s gift to man is family, home and children to extend one’s legacy and work for the Lord.
⁵Blessed is the man
    who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. God blesses us through our children. One can have both physical children as well as spiritual children. Both are as sign of God’s favor to us. They can attest to our love for God, our character and our great hope in Him. Truly, the man with many children is blessed.

The psalmist gives us hope and assurance that all of life’s securities and blessings are gifts from God. Is God in your home? Is He with you at work? Do you take seriously the teaching of both your physical and spiritual children so that they see your love for God, your trust and hope in Him? Take a moment today and thank God for His protection, direction and guidance and for His great gifts you you. Blessings are God’s undeserved favor coming into your life. What marvelous gifts!